In our class, the Ethical Teachings of Jesus Christ, they read the Gospel for this Sunday, Luke 16:19-31. In this lesson, Jesus tells a story about an unnamed rich man and a poor man, named Lazarus, who lived at the rich man’s gate. Lazarus, who we called Larry, ate what the rich man threw away. Both men died. Larry was carried away to heaven by angels but the rich man went to Hades. When the rich man saw Larry and father Abraham together, he cried out, “Have mercy on me!” Abraham said, “No, child; remember in your life you had good things and Larry had bad things. Now Larry is comforted and you are not.” The rich man then asked Abraham to send Larry to him with a drop of water. But Abraham said no again because there is a “fixed chasm” no one can cross. The very persistent and desperate rich man then said, “Please send Larry to my house to warn my five brothers so they will not come to this place of torment.” Again Abraham said no, because, “They have Moses and the prophets, they should listen to them.” Interrupting Abraham, he insisted, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Abraham replied, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

The students gulped and became very quiet. One brave student raised his hand and said, “Does this mean that all rich people go to hell?”

The virtue Saint John’s school is covering this month is service. We are learning how to serve God and one another. This past Saturday, members from the congregation participated in the Coastal Cleanup day of service. At the event, something difficult happened – our group stumbled upon an abandoned make-shift shelter. Inside the shelter were baby bottles and used baby onesies. That is when they “lost it” emotionally. As a result, Saint John’s is looking at participating in the next Sleepless in San Diego event where participants stay out and stay up to learn about the plight of homeless people in our county. In a very real sense, we will be trading places with ‘Larry’ in order to understand the poor in our time.

Back to the sixth graders – the ethical lesson for the day was “help and serve others.” Jesus was once asked if a blind man was born that way because of his sin or his parent’s sin. Jesus said it was neither; rather, the man was born that way so that the righteousness of God would be revealed. I asked the class if they knew anyone who was blind. Three students raised their hands and told stories of helping people they knew who could not see. I asked, “Was God’s righteousness revealed when you helped someone in need?” At that moment the fear-induced silence was broken and they started chatting about how they’ve helped people. Hope had replaced fear as the Gospel was revealed.

The same student who asked if rich people go to hell then asked, “So, if rich people serve others, they will go to heaven?” I replied, “I’m not the one who makes that decision, but I know who does, in fact I talk to him every day.” I waited and they all leaned forward in anticipation. “His name is Jesus – it is through his mercy and Grace that we are received into heaven.” They sat back with a combined, “Ahhhh.” I then asked, “Does Jesus want you to serve those in need?”

May you, who serve the needy, the friendless, and those in emotional distress, be blessed with the Grace from God this day,-Fr. Marshall

This news story caught my attention: “After 215 years, member of St. John’s Church to be buried.” The Rev. Amy Welin, priest-in-charge at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Waterbury, Connecticut, received a phone call asking ifshe’d be willing to do a funeral for a man named “Fortune” who died in 1798.

Fortune was a man of African descent who was the slave of Dr. Porter, a bone surgeon in Waterbury. After Fortune’s death, Dr. Porter used his bones for study at a time when access to human skeletons was extremely limited. Generations of doctors in his family passed the bones down for more than two centuries. They were reticulated in the 1930’s into a full skeleton and later given to the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury and put on display as a tangible reminder that the North had not been totally immune to slavery. Out of respect for the deceased, the museum director took the skeleton down in 1970 and put it in storage. Much later,interest in Waterbury’s African American history took hold and the president ofthe local chapter of the NAACP , Maxine Watts, with the assistance of hercommittee members did an enormous amount of work to assemble a body of history that will be helpful in understanding the heritage of African Americans in that area. Near the end of their work they discovered Mr. Fortune’s bones.

In the spring of this year, a team of diagnostic imaging professors and studentsstudied Fortune’s skeleton. The bones were scanned and a 3-D printer will beused to make replicas of them. It has been discovered that Fortune, who was 50to 60 years old when he died, owned a small house on Dr. Porter’s land.He lived there with his wife, Dinah, and their three children, Jacob, Mira, and Roxa. Researchers say that he was a strong, rugged man who had sustained several injuries before his death. One year before Mr. Fortune died, Dr. Porter’s wife, Lydia, a member of St. John’s, had him baptized on the Nativity of our Lord, December, 1797.

Connecticut’s Poet Laureate wrote an elegy, "The Manumission Requiem," to honor Fortune, which the Waterbury Symphony had set to music and in 2012, the “Fortune’s Bones Cantata” was performed by the University of Maryland by a full symphony, two choirs, seven soloists, and a chorus of African bells. Maxine Watts, who started this rediscovery, was never sure that Fortune needed to be put to rest because future medical science could reveal more about him.Nevertheless, she came around to the decision and said, “Fortune is talkingnow; not Dr. Porter.” This past Thursday, September 12, a parishioner of St. John’s Episcopal inWaterbury, had a “decent and respectful burial that he was denied 215 yearsago,” according to the Rev. Welin. She said that during his lifetime, “AfricanAmerican slaves were not considered fully human, but isn’t it ironic that thedoctors used his bones for human study? Underneath the skin, we’re all thesame. Mr. Fortune proved it in his death, even though he never consented toit.” The Hon. Steven R. Mullins, president of the Southern Connecticut Chapterof the Union of Black Episcopalians, served as the MC and the Governor’s FootGuard accompanied the casket to the cemetery to a plot donated by St. John’s.

There are many lessons we can learn from Mr. Fortune and his life. As his priestsaid, “Underneath the skin, we’re all the same.” And, in God’s eyes, we are allloved and precious in His sight. That is why believe in, one faith, onebaptism, one Lord of all.

When the iPhone first hit the market, a clever ad campaign showed what it could do. The ad had the tag line, “There’s an app for that.” If you wanted to look at the night sky and see the constellations, there was an app. If you needed directions to a restaurant, an app. Even the Episcopal Church has jumped into the app scene by creating programs to pull up the Book of Common Prayer, Bible study programs, and other handy things, when you are on the go. And I am not immune to the deluge of all. Apple’s app advertisement got me thinking about our liturgical church.

The robe that clergy and altar servers wear on Sunday is called an alb. From the Latin word Albus, meaning white, an alb is a robe-like garment that comes down to the wrists and ankles. It is one of the oldest liturgical vestments with a history dating back to early Christians who wore it when celebrating communion. In our liturgical tradition, the alb is worn to cover our street clothes and to remind us of our baptism. Imagine George Washington and a farm hand serving as chalice bearers at Falls Anglican Church in 1773. They both wore albs which removed their societal status and showed they were one in baptism and in Christ.

What do apps, a new invention for smart phones, and albs, an ancient liturgical garment, have to do with each other, other than a few similar sounds and letters of the alphabet?

Since the iPhone ads say they have an app for anything you can imagine you’d like your phone to do, I can imagine the Episcopal Church having a similar campaign saying, “We have an alb for that.” If you have a pet that you would like blessed, we have an alb for that. Want to celebrate your daughter’s fifteenth birthday? We have an alb. If you would like your house blessed, do not worry because we have an alb for that, too. Prayers for healing? Getting married? If you have a need, we have an alb.

I have met new parishioners who were introduced to the Episcopal Church by friends who essentially said, we have an alb for your needs. I have done weddings and funerals for folks who are new to the Church simply because a friend said we have an alb for that. I have prayed and laid hands on people in hospital rooms because a friend said we have an alb for it. In a couple of weeks, we are going to have a Ministry Fair where you can learn about different hands-on ministries at Saint John’s. If you are interested in serving at the altar, we have an alb for you. And, if you have a friend who is in need, you are invited to tell them, we have an alb for them too.

Are you ready for some football!? It’s that time again – high schools, colleges, and the NFL are back at it. The pre-season is over and, for many, football is the most important season of them all. Sometimes, enthusiasm for football overshadows participation at church on Sunday morning. Luckily, the rise of digital video recorders has allowed faithful Christians to record their team and attend church. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the reverse was true – that Christians could record their church service while attending a football game? I think I will drop that idea right now for obvious reasons. Besides, Christianity is not a spectator sport.

This year, football has taken on a more personal meaning for me. One of our parishioners is working for the San Diego Chargers and is getting to know the players and their families. He has been telling me stories that give those imposing helmets and faceguards a more human side.

The NFL pre-season is a time for teams to try out new players and make decisions about backup players, which in football-speak is called “depth.” If you follow the Chargers, you know they did not have a very impressive pre-season. It seems pretty clear to me that the Chargers need to work on their depth. But the good news is that the preseason is over. The Chargers, like every NFL team, have a clean slate. Everything is wiped clean and a new season begins and it doesn’t matter how bad their preseason was.

The notion of a clean slate and a brand new season filled with hope got me thinking. The NFL system of ending the preseason and starting the regular season with a clean slate is like our life with Christ. When we ask for forgiveness, God, through Christ, forgives us. . . .period.. . .clean slate. Christ forgives and gives a gift – life with a new season of hope. Just like the Chargers’ preseason record of 1 win and 3 losses doesn’t carry over to the new season, our lives with Christ are cleaned and a new season with Him begins. Our preseason, the time before we met our Lord and Savior, has been forgiven.

And, like hope found in Christ, Chargers’ fans are hoping for a good year. We too are filled with hope after we are forgiven. I trust, and have faith, that our earthly seasons will end with a joyous celebration of the resurrection.